TSN Season Preview: Clippers

[bballCT]

Having Kaman and Camby downlow is nothing to sneeze at. I'm sure this will be beneficial for them scorers on the team to do what they're best at. Might actually turnout:

PG - Baron Davis

Davis is one of those players that always finds a way to resurface just when his name is about to fade into oblivion, so don't count him out yet just because he's landed in NBA purgatory. However, Davis will be 30-years-old by the time this season ends, and with a deal that will see him making nearly $15 million when he's 34 it's unlikely he'll have much trade value on the open market. If he's going to prove that he can avoid the same fate as Brand did in LA (which is playing at an All-Star level with next to no notoriety) it's going to take some heretofore-unseen power acting in defiance of all things Clippers. For such a talented player, though, who has given us so much entertainment over the last two seasons one has to be rooting that he'll at least come close. That is, after all, about the most you can expect from any part of this franchise.

C - Marcus Camby

It's hard to imagine that anyone is happy when their phone rings and the voice on the other end says "you've been traded to the L.A. Clippers." At first said player has to think someone is playing a joke on them. That is how lamentable the perception of the Clippers is around the league - people are more inclined to think that someone is playing with them in such a scenario than to even take it seriously enough to get angry/sad/depressed about it. However, Camby has said and done all the right things for a player in his situation and no doubt he'll play his game anchoring the post defense and knocking down that awkward behind-the-head jumper he hits about 57% of the time. He may not have asked for the trade, he may not have wanted the trade, but he got the trade and now all he can do is live with it. It's not a joke, even if he wishes it was.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=251084&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nba

[mkwest]

This guy is a clown. What were they supposed to do? They could have thrown money at Okafor or Smith who both would have likely been matched. I probably would have depressed if the Randolph deal would have gone down, but at least we would have been adding a lottery pick. Camby for a 2nd swap is pretty good deal to me, and far from desperate given our circumstances. It actually puts the team in a good position financially in the long run. I'd like to see if this guy could have done any better.

Dunleavy is a bit of a control freak, but is willing to give certain players more free reign than others. He let Sam have his share of free-styling, and with Baron being the new franchise player, Dunleavy is going to have to allow him to have freedom as well. He has seen the guy play, and knows what to expect out of him. So much is riding on Davis and Dunleavy knows that. He's had players like Overton, House, Dooling, Jaric, Martin, Chalmers, Brunson, Ewing, Dickau, Knight & Parker at point over the years. Cassell and a young, inexperienced and injury-prone Shaun Livingston have been the best that he has had to work with. Like Cassell, Davis has been able to carry a team to the playoffs while the rest haven't. Dunleavy will have a bit more confidence in a player who can actually produce.